So I have done a search and seen them installed and they look georgous. My question is how hard is it to install one of these? Do you have to do any cutting? Do you need a kit? Why is it that sellers like Crutchfield say they will not fit? I feel like I am missing something here......

Here's the man to ask...I'd PM him if I were you.
http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77521&highlight=avic

Well anybody else out there??? I have not gotten a reply from aviator yet and would like to know.

What year truck do you have? You need to have a 7" Opening to fit it with out cutting. Older trucks only have a Din and a half you need a full double din.:exactly:

04

You might want to consult a high end stereo shop and have them install for you so they can work out any issues along the way. Just an FYI... Good luck..

04' you should be good, I have a z1 and it is an awesome unit, just make sure that you organize all the different wires, adapaters, etc. You need to fit the chime, onstar/power/speaker, and steering wheel adapter somewhere in your dash. www.avic411.com (http://www.avic411.com) is a great website for information on the headunit itself.

I have the D1 and after crutchfield and everone else in ther radio market said it wouldn't fit, i bought it and easily slid her in her new home. You need a standard install kit. It's really just two small brackets to bolt her in. The wiring is easy. If you need wiring schemadics for the vss let me know. I'm not sure if the bypass wiring is the same for the z1. I used the bypass wiring on mine so i didn't need to wire up the parking brake signal.

I have the D1 and after crutchfield and everone else in ther radio market said it wouldn't fit, i bought it and easily slid her in her new home. You need a standard install kit. It's really just two small brackets to bolt her in. The wiring is easy. If you need wiring schemadics for the vss let me know. I'm not sure if the bypass wiring is the same for the z1. I used the bypass wiring on mine so i didn't need to wire up the parking brake signal.

Do they provide the wiring necessary to make the ONSTAR work??

Do they provide the wiring necessary to make the ONSTAR work??
You'll need PAC adapters for the Onstar, Steering wheel controls, and Bose amp if equipped.

Personally, I REALLY wish that I had known it was possible to retrofit the GM unit from the Escy before I spent $2500 on my Pioneer system... I REALLY prefer the OEM software used by GM and Toyota... the Pioneer search options SUCK... you can't find "the nearest Motel 6" unless you know what city it is in. If you just search for a destination, it will bring up all 2,000 of them in your region, but they are not sorted by distance!

So what have I got that I would not have with the OEM unit?
I have the XM Nav-traffic, which gives me estimated freeway speeds and warns of problems and closures... except it's neither current nor complete. A complete waste of the extra $200 for the unit (except it was the only XM unit that interfaces with my AVIC-D2)... and the XM Nav-Traffic service is an extra $5 or $10 a month.
I'd have been better off just listening to the local XM traffic audio broadcast.

What have I lost?
My rear seat audio is non-functional. There is no PAC adapter to restore this. I was not warned by the installer that it would not work when they were done.
My steering wheel controls do not function properly. Oh, volume, on/off, and seek work... but I can't switch between memory presets, even though the Pioneer unit has a front panel control for that. I pull dash panels off to work on anything and there is a complete rat's nest of wiring from all of the PAC adapters.
It took them 10 hours to do the install.

Oh... and Onstar audio only works when the key is on, but hitting the button on the steering wheel with the key off still activates the system.

I found one of these bad boys on Ebay for 1500 dollars. Does anybody know if Pioneer will warrenty it if it is sold that way? The seller might not be a dealer and sometimes they get touchy about that.

Feign innocence... you paid cash from a local dealer and can't find the receipt.

It's doubtful they'll track the serial number and determine who it shipped to... if they even CAN do that.